15 Jul 2023
A leading Conservative county councillor has dismissed concerns over the proposed Park Street rail freight depot as being limited to only local interest.
Cllr Richard Thake, who represents Knebworth and Codicote, is a former HCC planning portfolio holder.
He was part of the overview and scrutiny committee that rejected the call-in of the decision to sell the former Radlett airfield land to rail freight developers Segro.
In the public part of the meeting he made it very clear that he didn’t want the decision to sell the land revisited and was trying to cut short the debate.
He was also part of the resource and performance cabinet panel that recommended to the executive cabinet to go ahead with the sale of the land at a meeting on December 1 2022.
After St Albans MP Daisy Cooper launched a detailed and damning attack on Conservative county councillors for their betrayal of local residents over the land sale, Cllr Thake responded by downplaying the significance of opponents in the wider context of the county as a whole.
In an open email to fellow county councillors he said: “Fascinating how a highest tier, elected representative of the people of St Albans, can display such wilful ‘absolute’ ignorance of the planning system and the rule of law relating thereto.
“I suspect that whatever (legitimate) defence we might put forward, the wider population (of the area – no one else will care about this) will never be persuaded of our position, so, I guess, we leave it alone and get on with things.
“Talk about disingenuity though. She is an absolute disgrace.”
Park Street resident Andy Love, a long-standing opponent of the rail freight terminal who contacted Herts county councillors to highlight Daisy Cooper’s original comments, responded to Cllr Thake’s reply.
“A disgrace? – Far from it. Daisy Cooper is very much in touch with those who will be affected by this monstrous development.
“I’m afraid the disgrace lies with those who voted the sale of the former Radlett Aerodrome through without due consideration for the impact that this HGV intensive freight operations will have on thousands of residents’ and childrens’ lives.
“[Counsel] Rhodri Price-Lewis gave advice to HCC that clearly said that the county council’s fiduciary duty could include a weighting for the negative impact that this development would have on the local community but it appears that this advice was totally ignored,” he told councillors.
“My petition calling for full public consultation was rejected on the basis that the developer held public consultation in around 2006 – really – do you know that there are still thousands of people who know next to nothing about what is going to hit St Albans soon as this development gets underway?
“To add to this – It was recently announced that West Herts A&E hospital is to be rebuilt in west Watford meaning that St Albans residents will have to use the same roads as all the freight traffic accessing and leaving the rail freight interchange to get to their A&E hospital.
“These roads are already congested at peak times without a rail freight interchange.
“What an absolute disgrace that the location of west Herts’ new hospital was never considered by the county council before deciding whether to sell the Park Street Green Belt.
“Daisy Cooper is absolutely right in mentioning that a former Conservative Secretary of State, Eric Pickles, approved the planning permission for this SRFI development and that it is a Conservative-led Herts county council that has not resisted the land sale despite the late Robert Gordon saying he was against such an offensive development for the local community.
“Just remember that the publicly-owned Park Street Green Belt was bought for just £1 in 2006 with covenants restricting any development on the 300 acres of Green Belt and to be enjoyed by the local community. This development destroys 400 acres of natural habitat and will impact badly on the remainder.
“If Conservative party policy is all about allowing the destruction of protected Green Belt, wildlife habitat and ruining the health and wellbeing of thousands of residents’ lives, then I sincerely hope that it is a political party on its way out of power.”
Meanwhile, Segro have released further information about their plans for the site, with work set to begin this summer.
The company has confirmed that it paid £120m for all three of the sites proposed for the scheme – which includes land owned by HCC, Tarmac and the Gorhambury Estate – but 50 per cent of this figure has been deferred for 12 months.
Works are expected to start on site in the next few months, with the initial focus of the multi-year programme focussed on creating the rail connection and preparing the site for development.
Segro says the development will incorporate a 247-hectare country park surrounding the terminal, which will include a 10-mile network of footpaths and recreational features including a trim trail, outdoor gym, new children’s play areas, new bird watching hides and a Visitor Interpretation Centre.
Over 4,000 trees and 132,000 saplings will be planted, while the local habitat will be enhanced by creating new ponds and nesting sites.
This all sounds very promising until you consider the fact that the land is currently unspoilt Green Belt, whereas the proposals call for a “soft” development of the country park with facilities and pathways which have never been requested by the local community.
In a truncated statement on the Segro website, there is a commitment to a significant investment programme to fund new traffic relieving measures, including £22 million to fund a new 1.4-mile stretch of relief road for Park Street / Frogmore to alleviate traffic on the A5183, and… At this point the statement abruptly ends.
The company’s CEO David Sleath said: “The former Radlett Aerodrome site offers a rare opportunity to bring
together the economic and environmental benefits of rail freight, provides connectivity to key arteries of the highways network and access to a large pool of employees. The scheme will also benefit the national and local economies, as well as help satisfy the demands of consumers and businesses for the sustainable movement of the goods and services we increasingly rely on in our daily lives.
“As a long-term investor and specialist in the provision of logistics infrastructure developments, we are proud of the benefits we’ve already delivered across the country including at our East Midlands, Coventry and Derby projects…
“The blueprint for the scheme will follow the successful delivery of a major strategic rail freight terminal and logistics development at SEGRO Logistics Park East Midlands Gateway, near Derby, where we have seen exceptional demand, and which expect to complete significantly ahead of schedule while providing employment for over 5,000 people.”
Interestingly, buried in notes beneath a statement on the sale on the Segro website is the revelation that: “The purchase is subject to additional overage charges which would be payable to the vendors in the event that additional value is achieved through planning consent for alternative uses and subsequent development or sale, or
should the infrastructure works cost less than assessed at the time of the acquisition.”
But planning permission has only been given for a strategic rail freight interchange, despite speculation that the site may actually be of greater financial value should it be used for housing.
Does this suggest a degree of foresight in Segro’s plans for the land, with the possibility that it might only have a short-term life as a rail freight depot? Should it then be sold or redeveloped for “alternative uses”, all of the original landowners would be entitled to some sort of indeterminate bonus.
